Brad Shannon:
The Politics Blog

Brad Shannon maintains this blog. He is political editor at The Olympian and can be reached at 360-753-1688 or bshannon@theolympian.com.

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Mainstream GOP opposes I-1033

• Published October 28, 2009

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The Mainstream Republicans of Washington have come out against Initiative 1033, taking the opposite view of the larger state Republican Party, which endorsed it.

I-1033 would put into law new revenue limits for state, county and city governments, tying growth in each jurisdiction's general fund to a factor of population growth and inflation. Excess revenue would be used for property-tax relief the following year.

Among the Mainstream Republicans signing a letter opposing I-1033 today were former GOP governor and U.S. senator Dan Evans, former U.S. senator Slade Gorton, entrepreneur John Stanton, former state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, ex-congressman Sid Morrison, and a few county-level officials. The letter says:

As Republicans from communities all over Washington State, we believe there should be reasonable limits on government spending. However, Initiative 1033 proposes an unreasonable and unworkable limit that punishes local governments, locks in funding cuts for law enforcement, schools and other important services, and weakens the ability of our communities to invest in projects that would help attract or retain jobs in our state. We ask you vote No on Initiative 1033 and reject Tim Eyman's ill conceived and unreasonable proposal that will make already tough times worse in our state and our communities.

A coalition of liberal groups has been on record for months as opposing the measure, as well as a few more centrist or right-of-center groups like the Washington Association of Realtors. The Association of Washington Business did not take a position.